Adventures of Fred: Day 1

Our Elf on the Shelf, Fred, made his first appearance in our family last night before bed.  Two readings  and lots of questions later Tayson finally went to bed, super excited about where Fred would be hiding this morning. 

Well T got quite a surprise when he woke up this morning.  Fred made him breakfast! A fun shaped pancake with an M&M face, hot chocolate, some doughnuts and "snow."  He even wrote his name in the "snow."

Fred, needless to say, is now a very big hit in our house!

T even learned a new way to eat pancakes, they are great dipped in "snow!"

Check back tomorrow to see what Fred gets into. 

I'm back....

Merry Christmas! I disappeared for a while.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep doing the blog, but I realized I missed it, even if no one reads it.  I'm back just in time for Christmas and today is a big day in our house! Santa sent Tayson his very own Elf on the Shelf! Tayson named him Fred.  

I think I am going to use my blog to document the day to day happenings of Fred.  Also I am going to share all my Christmas crafting, I've been busy and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

Thanks everyone I can't wait to start sharing.  Here's Fred's very first picture.

MIA

I know I have been missing for a while but we have been crazy super busy......I hope to resume posting soon....=)

New Tunes Tuesday: Blind Pilot

This week we are going to talk about Blind Pilot. They are one of T's and my favorite band.  They are played around this house daily and T asks for them by name a lot.  I don't quiet remember how I discovered them, I think I randomly found them on i-tunes one day and it was love at first listen.  I have actually saw them live, they opened for The Decemberists last year on their Hazards of Love Tour, one of the best concerts ever by the way. 

On to the music....
I would call them an Indie Folk band, they have a traditional sound that I love.  T's favorite part of the band is the banjo and upright bass, which by the way he thinks Santa is bring him those 2 things for Christmas HAH.  If you like, Avertt Brothers, The Decemberists, Mumford and Son, any bands along those lines you will love Blind Pilot. 
They have one cd, 3 Rounds and A Sound with another one coming out this September called We are Tide.  They also have an ep on i-tunes with a cover of Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio" which is amazing! 

My favorite songs in no particular order
"The Story I Heard"
"Paint or Pollen"
"Oviedo"
"Look at Miss Ohio"
I can't wait for the new cd to come out heres a link to their Page with a free download of their new song!  

Cooking Sunday! Confetti Rice

Taco Night, or as T calls it, Taco Bell dinner.  He loves Taco Bell and we do eat there occasionally but at least once a week we have tacos. 
Since we don't really eat meat, my taco filling is a little different. I use rice with some lovely items mixed in.  This week we had brown rice with corn and edamame.  I usually throw black beans in there also but I was out =( I use this as taco filling for me and I make a bowl for T.  The thing I like about this recipe is you can add anything you want.  This week I just made the basic and at the end I will give you some possible additions.  So here is the basic recipe

Confetti Rice
1 TBS butter or oil 
1 cup edamame
1 cup corn fresh or frozen
1 packet taco seasoning or more to taste
2 Cups cooked brown rice
1/2 Cup Black beans drained and rinsed

Heat oil in pan, add edamame and saute' for a few minutes.  Add corn and taco seasoning next and cook for about five minutes.  Once the edamame and corn are fully heated  add the rice and black beans and cook for about 10 minutes. Taste and add more taco seasoning if needed.  Corn and edamame will brown slightly.  Use as taco filling or make a rice bowl add toppings eat and enjoy!

Pretty simple I know but we eat this at least once a week around here, its a great way to use left over rice.   Some great additions to your taco or rice bowl would be, black olives, salsa,sour cream ( we use tofutti) lettuce, tomatoes, onions,  cheese or anything else you can think of.  For this one we added onion and cheese. This can also be vegan if you omit the cheese or use soy or my favorite Daiya Cheese. 

Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed my recipe.  Next week a twist on traditional rice crispy treat!

FABULOUS FRIDAY

Today is...

FABULOUS FRIDAY

I love Friday's for a few reasons! 

1.  My husband comes home! 
2. Its the first day of the weekend!
3. My husband comes home! (did I say that already?)

that's as close to a smile I get from him!

 This weekend we are doing nothing! I love these kind of weekends we get to hang around the house and just be together.  Our weekends are short and tend to fly by fast so I like to savor the few where we have nothing to do.  I love my little family!

So I do have a few plans for the weekend.  I am going to finish a set of valances for my bedroom, work on a few little birthday gifts for a cute little girl. I'm so excited I never get to make girl stuff!  Time to start my weekend, see you Sunday with a fun recipe enjoy your weekend!

my guys are cute aren't they?

Freezer Paper Stencil Captain America Tee

Who Knew! Freezer paper is an amazing little invention! I have read about it on so many blogs and I was waiting to find just the right project for my first attempt.  Well I found that project over at I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.  She has an amazing tutorial for Captain America tee's.  Well my son is now completely obsessed with him, even though we have not seen the movie and never watched a cartoon.  So I thought this would be the perfect first project for freezer paper stenciling.  I think I may have been a little ambitious hah.

Now don't get me wrong it is very easy to do and she has wonderful instructions, but I am not good with details and being precise.  I think I should have picked something out that didn't require you to be quiet so accurate.  Lets get to some pictures and I will tell you what I did wrong and what I will do again!

Ok, here it goes.  First off so glad I spent the $5 on the x-acto knife, I don't think you could really do it without that.  I printed off the design from I Am Momma's site and traced it onto my freezer paper.  Here's where my first mistake came.  I can't trace hah.  Back to the whole detail orientated thing, tracing is very hard for me I never get my lines right and I tend to rush.  This is one of the reason why I think this was an ambitious first project, for me.   You have to get those circles just right or the stencil won't line up right.

 I have the first part all ironed on and started painting my white.  I am feeling really good at the point.  The paper really does iron right on. 

 Now this was the tricky part, see that middle white ring?  Well I painted that first and then put the stencil over it and it didn't line up perfect.  Now I'm sure I could have done something like make another one but eh, I was just more playing then anything.  So since it didn't line and cover all that i painted white I got some red paint on the white ring.  Not that big of a deal my son didn't care that it was perfect!

Here is is all finished! I am pretty happy with it.  like I said no perfect but cute none the less.  The kiddo doesn't mind so neither do I. 

 Have to throw in a few action shots.  Mamaw had just bought him the shield the day before and I do believe he is getting the helmet tomorrow.  Oh I also added a little star to the bottom of the shirt, just cause!  Thanks for looking and I will have more freezer paper adventures soon!